Wearable, mobile and/or portable computer terminals or devices are used for a wide variety of tasks. Such devices or terminals allow workers using them to maintain mobility, while providing the worker with desirable computing and data-processing functions. Furthermore, such terminals may provide a communication link to a larger, more centralized computer system, which further handles the organization of the tasks being performed. An overall integrated system may involve a combination of a central computer system for tracking and management of the tasks, a plurality of mobile devices or terminals and associated peripherals and the people (“users”) who use the terminals and interface with the terminals and/or the computer system.
To provide an interface between the central computer system and the workers, wearable terminals and the systems to which they are connected are oftentimes voice-driven; i.e., are operated using human speech. As such, the central computer and terminals incorporate speech recognition technology. To communicate in a voice-driven system, for example, speech signals must be passed into and out of the portable devices or terminals to provide the proper speech interface with a user. Through the speech interface, the workers are able to receive voice instructions, ask questions, report the progress of their tasks, and report working conditions, such as inventory shortages, for example. Using such terminals, the work is done virtually hands-free without equipment to juggle or paperwork to carry around.
There are various ways to pass the speech signals into and out of a terminal or other device. In one scenario, a microphone and speaker located on the actual portable terminal may be used. However, such a device may not be practical in many environments. As may be appreciated, such systems are often utilized in noisy environments where the workers are exposed to various extraneous sounds that might affect the quality of their voice communication with their terminal and the central computer system. A portable terminal, mounted on a belt or other device to secure it to the user may be too far away from the user's mouth for effective communication. Therefore, more isolated or directional voice-capture techniques, such as headsets have to be utilized.
Traditional wired headsets are somewhat popular for portable terminals or devices and require a wire that extends from the headset to the terminal. A headset typically includes a microphone and one or more speakers. The terminal includes an appropriate socket for coupling with a connector or plug of the headset wire and also includes audio processing electronics for processing the speech signals sent from/to the headset. Such a traditional set-up has some drawbacks. For example, the wire from the terminal to the headset is often inconvenient as it may get caught or snagged, interrupting the work flow. Furthermore, the terminal must be configured specifically for the headset and, therefore, is limited to use with a specific headset and vice versa. Further still, if the terminal's audio processing electronics are limited, the terminal's performance will also be similarly limited as a voice-driven interface device, because the headset provides only a microphone and speakers for handling pure audio signals.
To address some of these issues, such as the headset-to-terminal wire, it is proposed to use a wireless peripheral, such as a wireless headset, to communicate with the terminal. A wireless headset (e.g., using Blue Tooth WPAN hardware) eliminates the need for a specific connector and for a headset wire. However, such a wireless system also has various drawbacks.
For example, such a headset using traditional wireless technology, such as Blue Tooth, must transmit signals continuously to the mobile terminal. This requires that substantial amounts of data be sent and the requisite transmission cycles. This has several implications. Constant transmission rapidly consumes the necessarily small battery that would be utilized in a wireless headset. Furthermore, such continuous transmission exposes a full-time user (i.e., forty hours per week) to continuous RF transmissions proximate the user's head. This may not be desirable.
In addition, using existing wireless headset technology for a voice-driven system requires that the terminal be configured to handle the significant task of all audio processing in addition to speech recognition processing. Therefore, wireless headsets would not be useful with terminals that do not have certain audio capabilities or processing power. As such, wireless headsets with current technology are not suitable in voice-driven systems that utilize speech recognition technology. Furthermore, such continuous transmission between the wireless headset and the wireless terminal is still necessary with existing systems, as putting a complete “industrial strength” speech recognizer and synthesizer into a headset is not practical.
Therefore, there is a particular need for addressing the various drawbacks in the prior art. There is a further need for achieving the benefits of a wireless headset within a voice-driven system without the full-time transmission characteristics now required. There is a need to provide wireless headset communication in a cost-effective manner that ensures proper operation of the speech recognition characteristics. The present invention provides solutions to such needs in the art and also addresses the drawbacks of various prior art solutions.